Federer An Unfourgettable Champ At Wimbledon

Not even Roger Federer's stiffest competition could deny him of making history. The grasscourt King exacted some revenge on Rafael Nadal- posting a hard fought 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 win at Centre Court to capture his fourth consecutive Wimbledon trophy Sunday at the All England Club.

By winning his fourth in a row, he joined select company since World War I which included Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg. Sampras was the last player to accomplish the feat (1997-2000).

A month removed from falling to Nadal in another four setter at the French Open, the 24 year-old grass court wizard turned the tables on his 20 year-old second seeded opponent by playing some splendid tennis to extend his record grass court win streak to 48 straight.

It also put to rest Nadal's recent dominance over him. Federer entered the championship match 0-4 this year vs the Spaniard while a perfect 55-0 against everyone else. All four defeats came in finals. Nadal entered with a 6-1 career mark against Federer, having taken the last five.

"I'm very well aware of how important this match was for me. If I lose, obviously, it's a hard blow for me- he wins French, Wimbledon back-to-back," the victorious Federer remarked at a postmatch conference. "It's important for me to win a final against him, for a change, and beat him, for a change. At Wimbledon, I knew it was going to be the place for me to do it the easiest way."

Not only was his reputation at stake but also the world number one ranking which Federer has held since February 2, 2004. With so much on the line, the top seeded Swiss sent an early message to his opponent that it would be a difficult task to get the better of him.

Sharp from the outset, it didn't take Federer long to break Nadal. After holding in the opening game, he took advantage of a shaky Nadal, breaking for 2-0 with a textbook running forehand winner. Nadal had entered the match having only dropped serve twice all tournament, including holding 80 consecutive times since a second round win over Robert Kendrick. By the end of a first set in which he was thoroughly outplayed, the No.2 seed had already been broken three times.

Federer concluded the perfect 25-minute set with a nifty crosscourt backhand pass. It was the first time a runner up was bageled in the opening set of a Wimbledon men's final since 1989 when Boris Becker shutout Stefan Edberg en route to his third Wimbledon.

"The start was absolutely perfect. I played fantastic, didn't miss any shots," Federer pointed out. "It was over in a hurry."

Despite not registering a game, the resilient Nadal reflected back to his poor start at Roland Garros in which he won only one game in a similar first set against Federer before rebounding to take the next three for a claycourt record 60th straight victory.

"I was thinking: 'Win one game,'" Nadal said.

That's precisely what he did, starting the second set by breaking Federer. Raising his game, the fiery Spaniard ripped two winners before benefiting from a rare Federer forehand miscue to get the early lead.

Playing more aggressively, Nadal began to take the action to the champion. Striking a lethal backhand which produced many of his 42 winners, he was in control. After fighting off a break point in the fourth game, Nadal exchanged holds with Federer until the 10th game. Serving to knot the match up 5-4, he tightened up, letting Federer off the hook. Making four unforced errors including his first double fault to setup break point, Nadal then airmailed a forehand to level the set.

"I played bad," a disappointed Nadal reflected about the lost opportunity. "In this moment, maybe I lost the match, no?"

After the two players exchanged holds, a crucial tiebreak was needed. In it, it was Nadal who got an early minibreak to jump in front 3-1. But then Federer took the next five points which included two Nadal forehand misses which helped setup three set points. After Nadal saved the first two, with Federer serving and volleying, the Spaniard netted a forehand under pressure to fall two sets behind.

Though he was facing an uphill battle down two sets, Nadal never wavered in the third set. Instead, he came out even more determined and continued to get into heated rallies with Federer from the baseline. With both players using every conceivable angle and running down multiple shots, it made for some truly exciting grasscourt tennis which brought the crowd alive. Nadal was even willing to come to net and did so with success winning 12 of 18 points as was Federer, who converted 21 of 33.

With both players tightening the screws on their service games, the classic 53-minute set was destined for another tiebreak. After each held for love games to force it, the match would take a dramatic turn when Nadal finally turned the tables on Federer in the breaker.

Starting off with a swinging backhand winner followed by a pump of the fist, he went ahead 2-0 before Federer cameback to square it with a minibreak of his own thanks to a backhand winner down the line and a scream. But the momentum was shortlived as a determined Nadal ran off the final five points, which included a ridiculous inside out forehand return winner crosscourt just on the line. He would close out the set a couple of points later to force a fourth set, making it the first set Federer had dropped in the tournament dating back to last year's third round.

"He did a terrific job by making the final here," Federer said. "I was very impressed...I honestly didn't think he was going to play the final here."

Returning from a bathroom break, a rejuvenated Federer came out ready to close out Nadal. After he held for 2-1, the Swiss No.1 broke Nadal thanks to some aggressive play. Hitting a couple of huge forehands for two of his 43 winners, Federer broke when Nadal missed a forehand volley long. After the break, a frustrated Nadal asked the linesman for the ball and then playfully hit a practice volley and smiled in vain.

It was no laughing matter when Federer broke again for 5-1 thanks to some more huge forehands. After a crosscourt forehand gave him another break point, he attacked the net off another deep forehand and finished off his sixth break of the match with an overhead and a shout of, "Yeah!"

But Nadal wouldn't give up. With Federer serving for the championship, he broke in large part to a loose game by the Swiss. After Federer sprayed a couple of forehands, Nadal broke back thanks to a deadly backhand crosscourt which the number one seed hardly got a racket on. When he climbed out of a 0-30 hole to hold for 3-5, it forced Federer to serve for the match once again.

This time, Federer's serve was too much for Nadal. When a Nadal slice backhand sailed wide, a relieved Federer emphatically raised his arms in the air with a huge smile. He walked up to the net and shook hands with his rival, who congratulated him on his eighth career major.

When BBC's Sue Barker asked about his budding rivalry with Nadal, Federer deadpanned:
"Now I like it again."

"He's unbelievable," praised Nadal. "I hope one year I don’t play against a guy like Roger. He played unbelievable on this surface but I improved a lot this year so I am very happy for that."

Despite falling, the Spaniard remained optimistic about his impressive run.

"This was my best tournament of the year," he said. "I played better here than I did at Roland Garros, for sure."

"When I was playing my best tennis, the match was close, very close." "That's nice for me. It's important for me to believe I can beat Roger on this surface."

Federer also realized what it means to play Nadal in such big matches.

"When we play so often in finals, it adds something to the game. He’s up-and-coming. I used to be the youngster. Now I’m sort of getting older. But it’s a great rivalry," he pointed out.

For the very pleased champion, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to complete the four-peat when he looked at the draw.

"Everyone was talking about Bjorn Borg’s grasscourt winning streak. I thought the draw looked like the streak might come to an end very soon – not because I might play bad, but because I had really dangerous opponents," he explained.

"These things go through your head. I didn’t think once that I might hold the trophy again. That only came once I beat Mario Ancic in the quarterfinals."

Getting through such a draw which included straight set wins over Richard Gasquet, Tim Henman and Tomas Berdych before he even eliminated Ancic made Federer appreciate the moment even more.

"Disbelief," he remarked. "You just can’t believe you did it again. A great feeling. I was really anxious to go and hold that trophy again."

The question is who can stop him from winning a fifth straight Wimbledon next year?

"I don’t have my sights on number five already, no," he said. "I’m looking forward to next year of course, but this was a very tough match for me. Just to come through another year is an incredible feeling."

Unfourgettable.